Button hooks for arm and hand amputees



Nov. 17, 1959 1.. J. LAYMAN BUTTON HOOKS FOR ARM AND HAND AMPUTEES Filed July e, 1956 I g l l I 62 7- 74 Loren J. La man 216 Q2 I NJII/EN TOR. I l I! g F BY FT g 6 MMEM United States Patent BUTTON HOOKS FOR ARM AND HAND AMPUTEES Loren J. Layman, Rockwell City, Iowa Application July 6, 1956, Serial No. 596,217

1 Claim. (Cl. 24--40) This invention relates to attachments for prosthetic appliances and more particularly to button hooks which are adapted to be used with and manipulated by prosthetic terminals.

An object of the present invention is to provide means by which commercially available prosthetic terminal devices may be used for buttoning clothing, moving slide fasteners in dressing and undressing and for sundry other uses as will occur to those having need for prosthetic appliances.

A more specific object of the invention is to provide button hooks that are adapted to be connected in the jaws, clamps or the like of commercially available prosthetic appliances, the button hooks being small and easily carried in a small pocket, for example a watch pocket or vest pocket of an individual, and very quickly and easily attached and detached from the appliance.

These together with other objects and advantages which will become subsequently apparent reside in the details of construction and operation as more fully hereinafter described and claimed, reference being had to the accompanying drawings forming a part hereof, wherein like numerals refer to like parts throughout, and in which:

Figure 1 is a perspective view of a commercially available prosthetic appliance having the invention applied thereto, this being the Dorrance Prosthesis Terminal #7;

Figure 2 is a side view of a hook which is made in accordance with the invention and adapted to be used with the appliance of Figure 1 as shown therein;

Figure 3 is a top view of the hook in Figure 2;

Figure 4 is an end view of the hook in Figure 2;

Figure 5 is a side view of the hook constructed especially to fit another type of commercially available prosthetic appliance, namely the A.P.R.L. Prosthesis Terminal;

Figure 6 is a top plan view of the hook in Figure 5.

In the accompanying drawing I have illustrated my invention applied between the jaws or clamp 20 of a prosthetic appliance. Clamp 20 is formed by the pair of jaws 22 and 24 which are adapted to be actuated in a manner known in this art. Hook 28 is used for buttoning and unbuttoning clothing, for actuating slide fasteners and for various purposes wherein a button hook or button hook substitute is handy.

Hook 28 has a shank 30 at one end of which there are means 32 for attachment between clamp 20. Means 32 consists of a U-shaped terminal or hook member 34 together with a clamping plate 36. U-shaped terminal 34 is adapted to fit around one part of the sectional prong 38 of the prosthetic appliance 20 while plate 36 is adapted to fit between the clamping plates 40 and 42 at the 2,912,733 Patented Nov. 17, 1959 ICC extremities of jaws '22 and 24. This forms a firm anchorage for the hook 28 in the prosthetic terminal.

Shank has a bill 48 at the extremity opposite to means 32, and there is an offset part or extension 49 in the shank adjacent to the bill 48. This offset is formed by two oppositely bent curves 50 and 52 in the shank making it simpler and easier to thread the hook between the buttonhole and draw the button therethrough under normal operating conditions.

Attention is now invited to Figures 5 and 6 where there is a button hook 60 constructed especially to fit another standard make of prosthetic appliance. This hook 60 consists of a shank 62 having means 64 at one end for attachment in the clamp of the prosthetic appliance which is equivalent to clamp and corresponds to clamp 20 of Figure 1. These means 64 comprise a plate 66 having a shorter transverse cross-member 68 and a longer one 70 spaced from each other and extending at approximately right angles to the longitudinal axis of shank 62. Bill 72 is formed at the opposite extremity of shank 62 and there is an offset part 74 of the shank near to the bill 72. Offset part 74 is formed by an angular bend 76 in the shank at the junction of the main part of the shank with the offset part.

In use, the hook of either illustration in the drawing is applied to the prosthetic appliance by simply inserting the attaching means into the clamp thereof. Then the button hook may be used in accordance with the desires of the owner and when not in use, easily separated from the jaws of the prosthetic appliance and carried in the pocket.

The foregoing is considered as illustrative only of the principles of the invention. Further, since numerous modifications and changes will readily occur to those skilled in the art, it is not desired to limit the invention to the exact construction and operation shown and described, and accordingly, all suitable modifications and equivalents may be resorted to, falling within the scope of the invention as claimed.

What is claimed as new is as follows:

A button hook especially adapted for use with a prosthetic terminal, comprising a straight shank, means provided at one end of said shank for attaching the same to a prosthetic terminal, said means including a flat hook member projecting to one side of the shank and a fiat plate member projecting to the other side of the shank in a common plane with said hook member, an oblique extension provided at the other end of said shank at an obtuse angle thereto, and a fiat button engaging bill provided at the outer end of said extension, said bill and said extension being disposed in a common plane with the axis of said shank and perpendicular to the common plane of said hook member and plate member, and the open portion of said bill being oriented substantially in the direction of said shank.

References Cited in the file of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS 349,415 Taylor Sept. 21, 1886 361,151 Fallis Apr. 12, 1887 825,790 York July 10, 1906 FOREIGN PATENTS 17,034 Great Britain 1895 481,029 France Aug. 1, 1916 

